Known from practice are motor vehicles equipped with a sliding roof, a sunroof, a lifting roof, a sun/sliding roof or some other roof opening system and/or a roof module variant (in short: roof module). These vehicles differ from conventional standard vehicles in the simple, closed, metal standard roof skin present there. These vehicles with opening roofs share in common that they are manufactured by opening the conventional, closed roof skin and inserting the respectively desired roof module from an already preassembled vehicle, e.g., as discussed in DE 88 16 505 U1. The motor vehicle sliding roof discussed therein exhibits two frames, specifically a welded-in frame and a screwed-in frame. The sliding roof is here secured in the second frame, the screwed-in frame, which is in turn screwed in the central area of the welded-in frame. The first frame, meaning the welded-in frame, which hence incorporates the screwed-in frame including roof module, is welded with the remaining roof skin in a roof opening specially generated for this purpose in the already present roof skin.
However, this mode of installing and attaching the respective roof module to the motor vehicle known in practice has disadvantages when contrasted with contemporary manufacturing aspects of today.
One of the disadvantages lies in the fact that a roof module incorporated after the fact, so to say, as is commonly the case in prior art, diminishes the headroom for the driver and his passengers by comparison to the same vehicle type with conventional, closed vehicle roof owing to the roof module opening- and attachment devices simultaneously required with the module, and associated space requirements.
Another disadvantage is that special and in part expensive and space-consuming structural measures must be taken to seal the roof module relative to the vehicle skin to prevent water, such as rainwater or splashed water, from penetrating inside the vehicle, which is undesired and must absolutely be avoided. However, these measures and their special space requirement can be attributed to a large extent to the fact that incorporating the roof opening system/variant at a later point, meaning after conclusion of final vehicle assembly, constitutes a structural measure taken after the fact, which is performed on the already finished motor vehicle, so that the roof opening system to be installed must be tailored to the specifically encountered structural boundary conditions, with the corresponding outlay.
Another disadvantage to the above-described procedure of subsequently incorporating a roof module in an initially closed, conventional motor vehicle roof lies in the fact that the conventional motor vehicle roof skin that was just opened to insert a roof module generally does not in and of itself exhibit the stability necessary to safely carry the additional weight of the incorporated roof module, complete with all opening, sealing and attachment devices required here.
Rather, the conventional sheet roof loses the required stiffness that had previously been intact, in particular against deformation, as the result of the conversion and installation measures. To remedy this disadvantage, an additional brace for the roof module is often incorporated, again after the fact, which serves to directly or indirectly support the roof module, e.g., on a vehicle column pair. However, this additional bracing is also cost and labor intensive.
It generally holds true with respect to subsequently installed, attached or modified motor vehicle components, and hence also to the roof module incorporated after the fact in the manner discussed above that the subsequent installation is associated with comparatively high adjustment, alteration, manufacturing, labor and time costs, which in the end is viewed as disadvantageous.
As a consequence, the object of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantages of prior art discussed above and propose a motor vehicle body that is characterized by a higher level of design freedom with respect to the roof configuration, and in particular can already be equipped with roof windows, sliding roofs, roof opening systems and/or roof module variants (in short: roof module) cost effectively and without any major additional effort. Another aspect of the invention is to propose an adapter carrier suitable for this purpose. Further, a corresponding manufacturing process is to be specified. In addition, other objects, aspects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, foregoing background, and subsequent summary.